Behind Her Smile
by JustThatCrazy
Summary: Alexis Watson is dying. Before she dies she wants to complete everything on her bucket list. She didn't expect to meet Tony Stark himself on the roof of the Avengers Tower, let the Avengers find out about her secret and have people almost die for her so she could be cured.
1. Prologue

_"Lexi". She heard someone call her name but she couldn't look back. They would try talking her out of her ridiculous decision. "Alexis, wait up", she sighed, knowing they wouldn't give up and turned around. "What?" she said in annoyance._

 _"Alexis, please. Think about this for a minute" her mother told her in her no-nonsense voice, "You can't just not get chemo anymore. You'll die"._

 _Lexi sighed, annoyed that her mother was still trying to make all of her decisions for her. "Yes thank you for that blindingly obvious fact Mother. Of course I'll die, that's what happens when you get cancer"._

 _Wendy gasped, "Lexi, don't think like that, the doctors will help you", she said, like she truly believed it._

 _"Mom, it's been two and a half years and no one has miraculously found a cure for Leukemia, don't expect me to hold out hope for something that won't happen anytime soon." Her family didn't understand. They weren't the ones with life-threatening illness. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life-which we both know isn't that long-stuck in a hospital. I'm 20 Mom, 20. I haven't had a normal life since I was diagnosed. I'm leaving and you can't stop me."_

Lexi silently stared out the window of the cab. She jumped as her phone stared blaring Chopin's 'Funeral March'. "Ugh, go away" she whined as she ignored the call.

"Rough morning?" the driver asked.

"Rough year" she replied bluntly. "My mom tried to stop me from doing something I've been wanting to do for a while".

"You can't let your Mom dictate your every move, you should go out and do whatever you want."

She thought for a second, before making up her mind. "You know what? You're right." And with that, she paid him, and stepped out of the car onto the curb. There was something about New York that she always loved. It was either the architecture or the bustling of the people-the ability to blend in and be a no one in a sea of everyone's or maybe it was something else. Lexi wasn't sure but in that moment she knew that this was what she was meant to do. She was supposed to be here.


	2. Chapter 1

Lexi stared up at the massive building in front of her, hesitated, and then looked down at the piece of paper she had in her hand.

 **Bucket** **Fuck-it List**

 _1\. See New York at night from the Avengers Tower_

'Well it's now or never I suppose' she thought to herself. It was about 10 at night, and she decided that it was now or never. She would never get this chance again, so she took it.

* * *

She slipped in through the front lobby, carefully checking to see if there was anyone around. Seeing that it was all clear she swiftly found the staircase, silently climbing floor after floor, getting more out of breath after every flight. Eventually she reached the top, and hunched over, stopping to catch her breath. She stood up straight, and gasped as the view in front of her. It was breathtaking. From where she was standing, she could see everything. She could see the taxis, the people and the lights coming from the skyscrapers, apartments and streetlights. She walked closer to the edge and spread her arms out wide, she  
felt like she was on top of the world.

"Unless you can fly, I suggest you tell me why you're going all 'Titanic' on my roof."

She whirled around, startled by the voice that came out of nowhere.

"Shit" To her astonishment, in front of her stood the one and only Tony Stark.

"Look, Pixie, I won't ask you again, step away from the edge."

She shook her head in defiance.

"I can't do that Mr Stark, I've been waiting my entire life to see this view, and I'm not gonna have you ruin it just because I'm not supposed to be here." She held her breath, praying he wouldn't call security up, or drag her out of the tower himself.

But instead he started roaring with laughter. Lexi stared at him in confusion.

"Well aren't you a little firecracker?"

"Excuse me?" She asked him; confused that he wasn't already dragging her halfway down the building.

"You…" He wheezed. "You're saying no? To me?"

She furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Yes…" She said, almost as a question.

"You got spunk kid," he stated. "I like you."

"Umm…thank you?"

"Come inside, it's too cold for you to be out here out in that".

She looked down, realising that she was rather cold in her leggings and three-quarter top.

"Uh, sure, okay." And with that she entered the elevator with Tony Stark.


	3. Chapter 2

Lexi shifted her weight between the balls of her feet nervously, wondering what the hell she was doing. She had just been invited in the Avengers tower by _Tony freaking Stark!_ Realising she was fangirling, she cleared her throat and sneaked a glance at the genius himself. He was blabbering on about something so she quickly cleared her head and focused on what he was saying.

"…and we have an entire floor dedicated to labs and science stuff. Do you like science Pixie?" He asked her.

"Ummm yeah, it's alright I guess." She mumbled, not wanting to tell him that she hates scientists because come on, this is the 21st century. You'd think by now at leas on smart person would have come up with a cure for cancer by now.

"Here we are." Tony exclaimed cheerfully as the elevator doors rolled open slowly to reveal the biggest, most expensive looking lounge Lexi had ever seen.

"Welcome to the Avengers tower Pixie"

She gasped as she stepped out of the elevator. The first thing she saw was the massive 12-seater couch in the middle of the room that looked _really_ comfortable. There was an open bar to the left of the couch and she made a mental note to check it out later. She may not be 21 yet but she'd be damned if she wasn't allowed to drink from the personal bar of Tony Stark.

There was a TV mounted on the wall and the view from this floor was just as breath-taking as it was from the roof.

"Want a drink?" Tony asked as he popped the top off an expensive looking bottle of scotch. Lexi moved from her spot outside the elevator and made her way to the billionaire.

"Don't you dare Tony." A voice came from behind Lexi. She whirled around only to see _the_ Pepper Potts walking towards her and Tony.

"What?" He questioned, putting on his best 'I'm innocent' face.

"You've already consumed half the alcohol on the entire tower." Pepper stated simply, and Lexi realised this probably wasn't the first time the CEO had needed to deal with the philanthropist.

"Yes, and?" He questioned, wanting to see how far he could take it.

"Today." She deadpanned. Lexi stared at him incredulously.

"And once you're through with that bottle, I believe the only thing left in the tower for you to drink will be water, coffee or Natasha's stash of vodka, and I don't think you want to do that do you?" Pepper continued.

"Well…" He trailed off realising his girlfriend had a point. No way was he going anywhere near the Black Widow's personal stash of alcohol.

"I'm Pepper, by the way. Pepper Potts." She said kindly, sticking out her hand and Lexi grabbed it, shaking it lightly.

"Alex-" She stared to say before being cut off by Tony.

"This is Pixie." He said simply and Pepper sighed turning her head to look at Tony and then back to Alexis with one eyebrow raised.

"Alexis, Alexis Watson, but most people call me Lexi."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Lexi, but if you don't mind my asking, what are you doing here?" Pepper asked politely.

"Oh well I…" She started to say before yet again being interrupted by Tony.

"She slipped past security and was on the roof when JARVIS alerted me about someone in the building and I found her on the roof staring into nothing, so I invited her inside."

"It wasn't nothing dumbass, it was the view." She snarked.

"I like her." Tony said to Pepper.

"Can we kee-"

"Finish that sentence and you won't see the inside of your Iron Man suit for a week." Pepper threatened, knowing exactly what he was going to say.

"Oh." Tony said sounding disappointed.

Lexi watched the banter in curiosity, finally realising how Tony Stark managed anything in his life.

"Sorry about him." Pepper apologised turning back to Lexi.

Lexi stared at her for a second before snapping out of her reverie.

"Sir, you have a missed message from Mr Barton reminding you to not forget tomorrows meeting or else." A disembodied British voice spoke from the ceiling, making Lexi jump in fright.

"J, tell Hawkass that I will be there when I want to, because I have prior commitments that include sleep, sleep and oh yeah, sleep." Tony said to no one in particular making Lexi think she really was losing her mind.

"Don't worry, that's just JARVIS, a U.I. Tony programmed a few years back. He basically runs the entire tower." Pepper said to Lexi, giving her peace of mind that she wasn't completely losing is just yet.

"U.I?" Lexi asked, not sure what to make of it all.

"User interface." Tony revealed.

"JARVIS meet Pixie, Pixie, this is JARVIS."

"It is an honour to meet you Miss Watson." The U.I said politely.

"It's uh, it's nice to meet you too?" Lexi questioned, not quite sure of how to respond to the voice that lived in the ceiling.

* * *

"So Lexi, why where you on top of the tower in the first place?" Tony asked as he settled himself into the marshmallow couch as Lexi had aptly named it.

"Oh it's on my bucket list and I had the opportunity to tick it off, so I did." Lexi said, not wanting to tell either the CEO or Tony that she was completing her fuck-it list because she had cancer.

"Well that sounds like a boring bucket list." Tony … Pepper gasped and smacked him on the arm

"Tony! Be nice." She reprimanded.

"No it's okay. You guys call it a bucket list, I call it a fuck-it list."

There was silence in the room for a few seconds before Tony roared with laughter. Pepper tried her best not to smile but ended up giggling as well.

"Come on, you have to have more interesting things on your 'fuck-it list' than see the view from Stark tower." Tony dramatized, waving his hand out in front of him, trying to prove his point.

"Avengers tower." Pepper corrected monotonously, tired of reminding him that actually it wasn't just his baby anymore and that he had to share.

"Actually I do, and I plan to complete the list before the end of this year." Lexi said, giggling as Tony pouted, mumbling about his baby being taken away from him and how unfair it was.

"At the end of the year? But then what are you going to do for the rest of your life? That's a bit boring isn't it?" Tony rattled off question after question.

"Yes, I'll make another one, and no." Lexi replied, answering each question he asked her.

"So how long is this list?" Pepper asked her, joining the conversation.

"It's got a fair few things on it."

"I've got it!" Tony exclaimed, looking excited and making both girls jump 3 feet in the air.

"I should help you complete the list!"


	4. Chapter 3

"Tony…" Pepper warned.

"Ummm, I'm sorry, what?" Lexi asked, not sure if he was being serious or not.

" _I_ am going to help _you_ complete this 'screw the world' list. It'll be fun." Tony said slowly, practically spelling it out for her.

"Wait, you're being serious?" She questioned, still not sure if he was punking her.

"As a heart attack." He replied.

"Tony, you can't do that," Pepper stated, as if they'd done something like this before. "You have other commitments and your schedule is pretty busy."

"Come on, it'll be fun!" He was practically bouncing in his seat from excitement. "Besides, my schedule revolves around me, therefore I can turn up whenever I want."

"Well it's not like I can say no right?" She said, secretly excited and nervous, wondering what mischief they could get up to.

"You wouldn't say no to the great Tony Stark would you?" Tony asked, pulling out his somewhat pathetic puppy eyes. Pepper stared at him with a pointed look, with one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised. Lexi stared at him with a somewhat bored look on her face.

"You really think I wouldn't?" Lexi said, challenging him.

Tony stared at her, eyes comically wide with disbelief. "You wouldn't." He dared her.

"Oh but I really would." She said, smirking at him.

"Really?" He asked her, his voice reaching an octave higher than Lexi thought was possible for a guy. "You would turn down the great Iron Man for the deal of a lifetime."

Lexi hesitated and opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.

"YES!" Tony exclaimed rather loudly, his trickery conning Alexis into his request.

"What?! I never said yes!" Lexi exclaimed trying to get out of her deal with the devil.

"Yeah, it's too late for that now, he's made up his mind." Pepper sighed realising that Tony's plotting had gone too far, and that she wouldn't be able to change his mind no matter what she bribed him with.

"Crap." Lexi muttered under her breath half-joking, realising she was stuck with him for a while.

"You know it's getting kinda late, I should probably leave." Lexi said after the silence had suffocated the room for long enough.

"What?! No, you can't leave, we're just getting started." Tony whined, gearing up to pull out his puppy dog eyes if he had to.

"Tony, honey, I'm sure Lexi has to get back home. She can come around later-maybe at a normal time when everyone else is awake." Pepper reasoned with him.

"But can't she-" Tony was silenced by the glare Pepper was sending him.

"Thank you for your kindness," Lexi said politely "but I really must go home."

Tony sighed, but realising he'd lost, stood up for the large marshmallow couch, dragged Alexis up and gave her a big hug.

"Don't be a stranger, Pixie," he muttered into her ear. "Come back soon." Lexi stepped back, and looked him in the eyes, smiling softly.

"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." She said, addressing both the occupants of the room.

Lexi stepped into the elevator and turned to face the CEO and Stark. "Thank you for tonight. I'll be back soon." She said, smiling kindly at them as the elevator doors silently slid shut.

"The lobby, Miss Watson?" JARVIS asked her.

Lexi jumped a bit, startled by the U.I, but quickly regained her composure. "Uh, yeah, please JARVIS." The elevator started its gradual descent to the ground floor.

"Thank you JARVIS." Lexi addressed the U.I as the doors opened and she stepped into the lobby.

"You are very welcome Miss Watson, I look forward to seeing you soon." JARVIS said warmly.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." Lexi muttered under her breath. She had realised early into her diagnosis that anyone around her was at risk of getting hurt, so she now made it a habit to not get close to anyone new.

She stepped out onto the chilly New York road and walked away from her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.


	5. Chapter 4

Lexi meandered lazily down the deserted New York roads, unsure of where to go, or what to do next. After her spat with her mother, Wendy had-quite selfishly-kicked Alexis out of her house, all the while swearing and yelling up and down about ungrateful and self-centred children, though Lexi was far from that.

Lexi wandered until she found a small hole-in-the-wall café that was still open. She grabbed herself a cup of hot chocolate, and sat in a booth, her back to the entrance. She aimlessly stared at the picture of Elvis hanging on the blue wall across from her, not thinking about much, just staring. A man slid into the seat opposite her, she jumped, and then focused on the stranger in front of her.

"You know normal people usually sleep at this time." Tony said simply.

Lexi stared at him for a moment before looking down at her drink, slowly stirring it.

"Whoever said I'm normal?" Lexi retorted, perplexed at his sudden appearance.

"Fair enough." He laughed.

She stared up at him, annoyed.

"What are you doing here Tony?"

"Well, I had JARVIS follow you on CCTV to make sure you got home safe. And unless you live in this old, 60's, tribute-to-every-dead-American-singer shack, this isn't your house." Tony snarked, looking around the café. "So, what are you doing here Pixie?" He asked, looking mildly concerned.

She looked at him, wondering what game he was playing at, and what she should tell him. She wouldn't tell him the truth, of that she was sure.

"I felt like grabbing a drink. You can't seriously tell me that you've never gone for a midnight coffee run." Lexi accused, really wanting him to just leave.

"Sure, except it's 2:30am." Tony informed her, frowning.

"It-what?" Lexi looked at him mildly startled. She must have been walking around for longer than she thought.

"You okay Lexi?" Tony asked, using her actual name for the first time. "You know what? Don't answer that. Come on." He said, and stood up, waiting for her to follow suit.

"Wha-where are we going?" Lexi asked, sliding out of her seat. She stood up, and wobbled where she stood for a second, but quickly regained her balance. Tony didn't notice, he was busy tipping the waitress with a $100 bill. She cleared her throat and Tony whirled around, his back to the blushing waitress.

"Come on, let's go." And with that, he spun around and strutted out the door in pure Stark fashion. She hurried after him, putting her arms around her waist after stepping onto the curb. It may have only been fall, but she felt the cold easier than most. Alexis caught up with Tony, and planted herself in front of him, making him stop and look down at her.

"What the _hell_ is going on Stark? Where are you taking me?" Lexi demanded, tired of the genius not answering her.

He blinked, owlishly at her before answering.

"We're going back to my tower, you're going to crash there for the night"

She stared at him for a second before bursting into laughter. He looked at her like a confused puppy, tilting his head to the side.

"Sorry," she wheezed after calming herself down. "I-I thought…I thought you were serious!" she said before her laughing fit started again.

"I am." Tony replied with a straight face.

Lexi straighten her back and stared back at him, no longer laughing.

"Wait, you are?" Alexis questioned him, not believing him for a second.

"It's late, or…early, whatever, and you need sleep. The closest place to crash is Stark Tower, so that's where we're going."

"But I-" Lexi started to protest but was quickly cut of by Tony.

"Oh no, you can't get out of this one. Come on, we're nearly there." Tony said and stepped around her, practically dragging her behind him. She quickly pulled her arm from his grasp and caught up with him.

* * *

They were walking together in silence for several blocks, both enjoying the city and its sparkling lights when Lexi gently nudged him with her shoulder and looked up at him.

"You know, I have it on _very_ good authority that it's not actually called Stark Tower anymore." Lexi informed him, smirking.

"Oh really?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow. "Then please enlighten me Miss Watson, what do people call it these days?" He questioned, playing along with her game

"Well, I've been told that now people are calling it…" She looked around, then leaned in close so Tony would hear. " _The Avengers Tower!_ " She whispered, feigning shock. Tony gasped loudly and stepped back, the fake shock on his face was priceless.

"Well that's a terrible name, who would call it that?" Tony inquired.

"I have no idea, but I think you should do something about it." Lexi stated, a serious look on her face. Tony stared at her for a moment before his face broke into a wide Cheshire Cat like grin.

"You're absolutely right!" He exclaimed. "I should hold a press conference and demand they call my tower by its rightful name. How does that sound?"

Lexi frowned for a moment, disagreeing with Tony's plan. "That _might_ work, but do you think it will do much. I'm thinking of something a bit bigger."

"Shoot."

"I think we should redecorate the outside of the tower so people can see it. I mean, that massive broken 'A' isn't really helping your case."

"Well then, that's what we'll do. " Tony smiled, agreeing with her, a plan already formulating in his head. "Until then, however." Tony said as they stepped into the lobby of the tower together. "We're getting you some rest."

Lexi sighed, defeated and tired, slowly following him into the elevator. They each leaned on opposite sides of the lift as it gradually ascended to their destination, not saying a word until the doors opened leading them back into the lounge room. She followed Tony as he rounded the corner, leading them up a set of stairs into a wide, half-lit corridor. Tony led her to the end of the hallway, turning left to open a door, that revealed the biggest bedroom Alexis had ever seen.

The first thing she noticed was the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the bustling city, before focusing on the contents of the room. The large double bed, covered in a dark purple duvet, sat in the middle of the spacious room, next to the walk-in wardrobe and opposite the extravagant ensuite. Lexi slowly spun around the room a few times; doing what Tony thought was a wonderful impression of a goldfish.

"So." Tony started, smirking at her "What do you think?"

Lexi snapped her jaw shut, quickly composing herself.

"Wow, Tony this-this is incredible!"

"I know. Now, get some shut-eye." He told her, starting to walk out the door. Alexis' eyes widened in shock.

"What? I can't sleep here! I'll just-I can crash on the couch or something."

Tony scoffed, dismissing the idea.

"Yeah, like _that's_ gonna happen. No. Besides, Pepper would kill me if she found out you weren't given the best care."

Lexi carefully sat on the edge of the bed, smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles on the cover.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't be _too_ bad." Lexi mumbled in defeat.

"Great! So sleep, and I'll see you in a few hours." Tony said and left the room, leaving Lexi staring at the closed door behind him.

She yawned, took off her shoes and lay down on the bed, marvelling at how comfortable it was.

' _Stark bought it, of course it will feel like hugging Baymax',_ Alexis thought to herself. And with that, she snuggled underneath the covers and fell asleep almost immediately.


End file.
